


In Which Huey Prepares for Season 3

by OhGeeezNotAgain



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: ...or is it?, Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Duckburg, Ducktales Season 3, Friendship, Gen, Huey Saves the day, Huey wants to be a hero, Junior Woodchucks, Mark Beaks is not a good guy, Meta, Older Sibling Huey Duck, References to Thunderbirds, Robots, Self-Discovery, Sibling Bonding, Superheroes, Totally not ripping on the Amazon Alexa, junior woodchuck guidebook, like SUPER meta, smart speakers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23413786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhGeeezNotAgain/pseuds/OhGeeezNotAgain
Summary: Huey Duck is worried about being the main character of DuckTales Season 3, but when a new threat arises in Duckburg, Huey is forced to face all his fears at once.
Relationships: Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck, Dewey Duck & Huey Duck & Louie Duck & Webby Vanderquack, Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera & Huey Duck, Mark Beaks & Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera
Comments: 31
Kudos: 32





	1. PART I

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to all my fellow Huey Duck fans. If he can survive what I put him through in this story, he can survive anything Season 3 throws at him. 
> 
> Inspired by Frank Angones Tumblr. Peruse at your own risk: https://suspendersofdisbelief.tumblr.com

Ducktales Season 3, Episode 0

_"Like diamonds, we're built with time"_

\- Vinyl Theatre, "Shine On"

MARCH 6, 2020 – One Day After the Announcement of DuckTales Season 3 Start Date

INT. McDUCK MANOR – MORNING.

Huey got out of bed at 9:30 – nearly three hours later than usual (Junior Woodchuck Rule 33: “A Junior Woodchuck rises early to prepare for the day”). He immediately reached for his phone.

Nothing new yet. Concerning.

He stumbled to the bathroom, face still buried in the screen. He tripped over Dewey’s toy robot – causing him to grimace more than usual given the circumstances – and stepped into the shower, hazily feeling the water pelt him from above as if out of some other dimension.

After 5 minutes – a good 3 minutes longer than it should have been (Junior Woodchuck Rule 10: “A Junior Woodchuck always conserves natural resources”) – he stepped out and studied himself in the mirror. Flexed one bicep, then the other. Tried to make his hair swish back the way Dewey’s did, but it just drooped back across his forehead like a dead houseplant. Tried to lean against the wall, half-close his eyes, and look cool and bored with the world like Louie did, but it just looked like he was squinting at something in utter confusion.

Huey would have kept this up for another few dispiriting minutes had Dewey not frantically knocked on the door.

“Hey Huey! Check it out!”

“Um, just a minute…” Huey threw on his red polo shirt, grabbed his hat and the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook (heretofore, the JWG), and opened the door where Dewey stood proudly. In his outstretched hands were a half-dozen smooth stones, all impossibly black.

Huey’s eyes widened. “Is that…?”

Dewey nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“You found…?”

“Yerp.”

“WHOA, this is incredible!” Huey exclaimed. “I’ve never seen such perfect samples of jet crystal in the wild before!”

“Ye…wait, what??”

Huey gingerly brushed the stones into one hand and flipped open the JWG in the other. “Jet! Fossilized wood that, through eons of pressure, forms into a smooth, dense, gorgeous black solid similar to coal!”

“Actually…”

“…Well, yes, it’s not actually ‘crystal,’ because there’s no crystalline structure, but it…”

Just then the stones started vibrating rapidly and a weird purple light shone from them.

“Aaah!” Huey gasped as the stones leapt out of his hand and began levitating in the air, spinning around in a vicious vortex before breaking into a cloud of tiny pieces. The cloud re-hardened in the form of a giant raven-like bird as tall as the room. It was sleek and black as night except for its glaring eyes that flashed purple. It spread its massive wings and opened its beak, but instead of a shriek it let out the sound of reverberating thunder.

“Nope.” Dewey said proudly. “Those were Thunderbird eggs.”

Webby rushed into the room. “Legend has it that the mighty Thunderbirds guard the Lost Treasure of the Ozarks! A vast supply of every currency known to man!! If we follow this Thunderbird back to its nest, we could be the first ones ever to find it!!!”

She and Dewey high-fived, and just in time as the Thunderbird flapped its wings and let out another bellow of thunder. It picked up Webby and Dewey in its talons and crashed out of the room in full flight, leaving a Thunderbird-shaped hole in the wall.

“ALRIGHT!!!” Dewey yelled in joy. “Hey, Albatross! Play the theme song!”

From some location, a disembodied robotic female voice said, “Now playing Ducktales 2017 Theme Song.” From this same unidentifiable location, the familiar bass and drum riff began playing at an obnoxiously loud volume.

_“Life is like a hurricane, here in Duckburg…”_

Huey stood with his mouth open, trying to piece together what was happening. He could not, however, because the music was far too loud for him to think clearly.

_“Racecars, lasers, aeroplanes, it’s a duck-blur…”_

He jumped back up to his top bunk, grabbed a backpack with his tablet and some…secret stuff, and ran towards the door.

_“Might solve a mystery, or re-write hist’ry!”_

Huey raced out of the bedroom, soundtrack blaring all the way (interrupted only by rumbles of thunder) and down the staircase

_“DUCKTALES! (Woo-oo!) Every day they’re out there making DUCKTALES! (woo-oo!)”_

At the bottom of the stairs he saw Louie sprawled out on the couch in front of the TV.

_“Tales of derring-do bad and good-luck tales! (Woo-oo)”_

“Louie!” Huey yelled. “Where’s this music coming from?!?!”

_“D-d-d-danger lurks behind you…”_

“Huh??” Louie responded.

_“There’s a stranger out to find you…”_

Huey looked around and saw a smooth, white cylinder-shaped object on the table in front of Louie with a green fluorescent light pulsing in time to the music.

_“What to do? Just grab on to some….”_

Huey ran at the object, hit it with a flying leap, and sent it sputtering to the floor – the light flashing then fading, and the soundtrack cutting out before the key change could set in.

Louie jolted out of his big-screen-induced stupor. “Aw, man!” With a great deal of struggle, he picked himself off the couch and retrieved the object. It sparked and fizzled in his hand. “Come on! That’s the second one of these I’ve gone through today!”

“What IS that?” Huey demanded.

Louie looked disgusted. “What?! You’ve never heard of the Albatross Nest?? I thought tech-y stuff was supposed to be your _thing_!”

Huey inhaled sharply, then narrowed his eyes. “Oh…of course. The Albatross Nest, it’s…uh…” he faltered. “…What does it do?”

“Dude!” Louie said, producing a brand-new, identical device from his hoodie pocket. “What DOESN’T it do?! Just bring one into the house, turn it on, and EVERY electronic device gets connected automatically!” He flicked a button on the base of the Nest and the green fluorescent light appeared at the top.

“It’s the latest technological trend.” Louie said haughtily. “And as one of Duckburg’s elite, I, of course, had to buy at least five.”

The robotic female voice spoke again, causing Huey to look around wildly. “Now connected to all devices in…McDuck Manor.”

“Where is that voice coming from?” Huey asked.

“Eh, I dunno, it just kinda happens.” Louie sprawled back out on the couch. “Hey, Albatross, TV volume up.”

“Increasing TV volume.” the Nest replied.

“See?” Louie said. “Now, I don’t have to call Gizmoduck every time I can’t reach the remote. I don’t even NEED a remote anymore! Hey, by the way, can you get me some more Pep?”

Huey groaned. “Why don’t you ask your new best friend?”

Louie’s eyes lit up. “Hey, that’s right! Albatross, get me more Pep!”

“Now bringing you more Pep.” The Nest responded.

Nothing happened.

“Ha!” Huey mocked. “Guess it CAN'T do everyth…”

At that moment, Dewey’s toy robot rolled into the room dragging a skateboard piled high with Pep cans. It stopped in front of Louie.

“EVERY electronic device.” Louie repeated, head tilted to one side, eyes half-closed, looking cool and bored with the world as he opened a can.

Something in Huey’s stomach sank.

“Well, whatever,” Huey said, sprinting towards the front door. “I gotta go – Dewey and Webby were just taken by a Thunderbird, so who knows …”

He opened the door just in time to see the Thunderbird streak across the front plaza with Dewey and Webby on it’s back, laughing and cheering.

“Never mind.” Huey scowled. He had to get out of here.

EXT. CABRERA’S HOUSE – LATE MORNING

Huey knocked on the Cabrera family’s door, face buried in his phone, refreshing Tumblr constantly. Updates coming. Nothing about him yet. Concerning.

“Hello, Officer Cabrera? It’s me – Huey. Is Fenton here??”

Officer Cabrera opened the door in a rush, “ _Ay_ , Huey, I’ve told you a million times: just come in, you’re family here.”

Huey crept through the door and into the house

“Fenton should be back any minute, he had to run some…errands.” Officer Cabrera continued.

Right on cue, there was the sound of whirring helicopter blades followed by, “Whoa!!! No, no, no, no!! Oh, sorry! Ahhhghh!!!” and finally the sound of colliding metal, brick, wood, and glass.

Officer Cabrera sighed. “And right before _Patos_ again.”

Huey peered into Fenton’s room where there was suddenly a very conspicuous hole in the wall and Fenton frantically crawling out of a smoking Gizmoduck suit. Officer Cabrera looked on in bemused frustration.

“You told me you were going to the store to buy cereal.” she said.

“I was!” Fenton replied, jumping around the room trying to put out all of the tiny fires, “and then, you know, things happened. At the grocery store. In the cereal aisle.”

“This is the third time I’ve had to get someone to fix that wall.”

“Oh, don’t worry M’ma, I can fix it!” Fenton stammered, stacking pieces of charred plaster over the Gizmoduck-shaped hole.

Officer Cabrera sighed again. “Albatross, call the repairmen.”

Huey narrowed his eyes in annoyance as he turned to see an Albatross Nest sitting on the Cabrera’s kitchen table, and heard the disembodied female voice say, “Now calling El Ganso’s Home Repair.”

He turned his attention back towards Fenton, who was retrieving all the smoldering pieces of the Gizmoduck suit.

Huey picked up one of the arms, marveling at the design. “This thing can survive anything, huh?”

“You’d like to think so,” Fenton grunted, “but there’s a hairline fracture in the chest plate that showed up about a week ago, and I can’t seem to get it out. I’ll have to see if Dr. Gearloose has any suggestions. But if I show him the fracture, he’ll probably have some…select words for me, so I’m not sure what to do with that at the moment.”

Huey was silent. Maybe Fenton was the wrong person to talk to.

“So,” Fenton continued, effortlessly going back to being cheerful, “What’s up with you, Huey?”

“Umm, you know, maybe we can talk later. You should, uh, probably get that suit fixed, right?” Huey grinned sheepishly and started backing out of the room. “I mean, you never know when you’re gonna need it next, huh?”

“Wait, something’s wrong.” Fenton said, turning concerned.

“What? Nah. Everything’s just, uh, chillin’!” Huey said as dismissively as possible (which was not very dismissive at all), stealing another glance at his phone. “You know, like us chill people do!”

“Oh, my goodness!” Fenton exclaimed in horror. He grabbed Huey’s shoulders and shook him in panic. “What’s happened, Huey?! Is it your uncle? Or your brothers?? Or - oh, no - your mom??? What do you need me to do!?!?”

Huey pushed away, deflated. “No! Nothing’s happened, it’s just…this.”

Huey handed his phone to Fenton. Fenton scanned it hurriedly, then looked perplexed. On the screen was the headline, “Ducktales Season 3! New episodes arriving April 4 on DisneyXD!”

“Wh…” Fenton started, “You’re gonna have to tell me what I’m missing here.”

Huey had been dreading this for months now, running it over and over in his mind - the nights he had laid awake, knowing that this day would come.

“Look, everybody’s excited for the show to come back, and everybody’s talking about how this is going to be MY season. Like, Dewey got the first season, and Louie got the second season, and now it’s my turn. But the more I hear about it, the WORSE it sounds! Just…have you SEEN what Frank posts on Tumblr?”

“Uh…no?” Fenton tried.

“It’s horrifying!!” Huey grabbed his phone back from Fenton and opened a folder of screenshots labeled, “Scary Things Frank Angones Posts.” In it were Tumblr posts from the series co-developer dating back to 2018 that included such gems as:

Q: On a scale of 1 to 10, how stressed will Huey be in season 3?

A: A billion

Q: What is the hardest challenge Huey will have to face in season 3?

A: Huey

Q: Will we see more Angry Huey in Season 3?

A: Yerrrrp.

…to say nothing of the fan art that Frank had reposted that featured Huey saying, “For season 3, I’m going to LOSE IT!! (Murder is a very real possibility)”

Fenton began to understand.

Huey paced around the room. “Do you know what the JWG says about how to deal with stress caused by being a character in a TV show??”

“Well, I guess…”

Huey whipped the book out of his hat and held it out in Fenton’s face. “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!”

Fenton nodded slowly. He turned back to the suit and absentmindedly began piecing parts back together.

Huey continued. “And now there’s this whole 'FOWL' situation. Do you know what Guidebook says about how to infiltrate and take down an international organized crime ring??”

“Absolutely nothing?” Fenton guessed, still pretending to focus on the suit.

“Worse!!” Huey shoved the book back in his face.

Fenton looked at the page. It read, _“In the event that a Junior Woodchuck should ever come into contact with an active organized crime ring, we strongly suggest that the scout report the organization to the proper authorities and DOES NOT (and we can’t stress this enough) under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES attempt to infiltrate and take it down on their own. THIS MEANS YOU, HUBERT!”_

  
“Wow, they’ve really got your number.” Fenton said.

Huey sat down on Fenton’s unmade bed, resting his head on his hands. “Look, I don’t want to be the center of attention! I just want to keep things running smoothly. Growing up with Louie and Dewey and Uncle Donald, I learned really early that if someone didn’t step up and take the lead, everything would fall apart. That’s why I like guidebooks, and plans, and maps, and lists – it’s my job to make sure everything’s under control. Is there something wrong with that??? Tell me there’s not something wrong with that!!”

Fenton looked at the floor, unsure if there was a sufficient response to this.

“But what if there IS something wrong with that?!” Huey asked with mounting anxiety. “What if the whole point of this season is ‘Oh, look at Huey, thinks he’s so mature and responsible, well actually he’s just a stupid little kid who doesn’t know anything.’ What if I have to make a decision without the Guidebook? What if in trying to stay in control, I lose ALL control? What if I become a robot? What if…”

Fenton looked up, very confused. “I’m sorry, but ‘become a robot'??”

Huey jumped to his feet in a fit of panic. “THIS HAS BEEN HINTED AT A DISTURBING NUMBER OF TIMES!!!”

He opened the JWG to the “Meta” section and began to read:

“‘Season 1, Episode 16: Dewey uses toy robot as stand-in for Huey during the _Dewey Dew-Night_ sequence!’ FORESHADOWING?? ‘Season 2, Episode 24: Huey is overtaken by group of Lil Bulbs and says, “No! Stop! I am man, you are machine!”’ FOR HOW MUCH LONGER WILL THIS BE TRUE??? ‘October 26, 2019: Frank is asked on Tumblr which kid BOYD will interact with most, and he responds, “Huey,” and then IMMEDIATELY answers another BOYD question with: “I cannot stress this enough, BOYD is not safe. Avoid him at all costs,”’ and WHAT THE HECK AM I GOING TO GET MYSELF INTO?!?!?!?”

Huey stopped to breathe. Through a blur of fear and pent-up emotion, he saw Fenton standing in the corner of the room looking very worried. Huey felt embarrassed and lay back down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“If I’m going survive this season, I need to have everything together. I need to be prepared for every situation. I need to be the hero.” he turned to Fenton. “You’re the best hero I know. I thought maybe you could help me.”

Fenton’s eyes widened. “Oh.” he said, just as the Gizmoduck helmet rolled off the suit and hit the floor. “Oops! Sorry! Well, I mean…” He sat down next to the disgruntled Huey. “Usually, I’m the one asking these questions. This is the first time someone’s asked me.”

He looked at the JWG laying open next to him and picked it up. He flipped through the “Meta” section, scanning the summaries of each episode until he found what he wanted.

“Season 1, Episode 18: Huey says to Fenton, ‘It’s like I’ve been saying all along: YOU can do more.’”

Huey blushed and turned his eyes back towards the ceiling.

Fenton continued paging, “Season 2, Episode 4: Huey says, ‘See? When you’re true to yourself, everything works out as it should.’”

Huey didn’t respond.

“You’re always telling me that the best thing I can do is be myself,” Fenton said, “And I can’t think of one time you were wrong about that. So maybe, just maybe, the answer to your problem is already somewhere in there.” Fenton tapped Huey’s chest.

Huey scowled in disappointment. “But that’s the problem,” he mumbled. “‘Huey’ isn’t a hero. I’m just a nerd.”

“Well,” Fenton said, “If it makes you feel any better, I may at least have a solution to your robot concerns…”

THE STREETS OF DUCKBURG – AFTERNOON

Huey and Fenton walked through downtown Duckburg en route to Gearloose Labs, carrying the Gizmoduck suit in a duffle bag between them.

Though he had a lot on his mind, Huey felt ok right here, and for the first time in a few months had no itch to check Frank’s Tumblr. The sky was windswept blue, and the spring air was cool and wet – mixing every so often with a warm breeze off the ocean that wrapped him in an invisible embrace, ruffling his feathers and tugging at his shirt.

Huey closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the elements seep into his body. One day, when he was a world-renowned scientist, he would invent a liquid that could absorb the essence of the world around you and hold it forever. Then, whenever you felt overwhelmed or afraid, you could pull the bottle out, take a sip, and go back to that moment for just a second. Have the sun on your head, smell the dew in the air, hear the waves in the distance. Maybe that’s all you’d need.

With that thought in mind, he fell into step with Fenton.

“So,” Huey started, “while we’re on the subject, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

“Ok…” Fenton said, not sure where this conversation would go.

“Alright, picture this hypothetical situation:” Huey set the scene. “You’re out saving Duckburg once again, just a normal day. But suddenly you’re up against a villain that’s just too strong, even for the unstoppable Gizmoduck! He’s got you surrounded, the suit has nothing that can stop him, all hope seems to be lost! What do you do??”

“Excellent question!” Fenton said. “Well, I’d probably call M’ma so she can send the police squad to…”

“Oh, I forgot: In this hypothetical situation all phone communication has inexplicably been shut down.”

“Ok then, well I can always send an SOS signal to Dr. Gearloose and Mr. McDuck who can send the…”

“Oh, darn,” Huey continued, “In this hypothetical situation everyone at McDuck Enterprises has been captured. Except me.”

“I feel like this i…”

“…So what you do is you send an encoded signal to a super-secret receptor in an undisclosed location which alerts your sidek…I mean, ‘assistant’ to your location, and then _**I**_ arrive as…” Huey dropped his end of the duffle bag (causing Fenton to scramble to pick it up), dug through this backup, pulled out his tablet and proudly held it out to Fenton. “…SUPERHUEY!! Your tech-savvy, Junior-Woodchuck-certified superhero partner!”

Fenton stared at the piece of paper before him, doing his best not to laugh at Huey’s expense. On the screed was a crudely animated image of Huey in a mock-up Gizmoduck suit with a giant “H” on the front soaring through the air.

“Uh…‘SuperHuey’??”

“Well, I’m still working on the name – I’m not good at imagination stuff. Have I told you this? No matter, all you need is this!”

Huey dug in his backpack and produced a small square of red plastic and wires. “Just attach this to your suit and press the red button to call me and send your geographic coordinates! It should work from anywhere in Duckburg. I haven’t actually been able to test it yet, but we can…”

Fenton hesitantly took the device and dropped it in his shirt pocket. “Well, this is certainly…ambitious of you, Huey, but…”

“…And it’ll be the perfect way for me to learn how to be a hero!” Huey said excitedly. “I can just follow you around whenever you go on a mission, and we can…”

“Oh, hey what’s that?” Fenton quickly changed the subject as they rounded a corner and found themselves facing an enormous crowd. Everyone was staring at a huge stage that had been set up in front a new, high-tech-looking office building. Everything was stamped with giant sans-serif “A”s

As Huey and Fenton approached the back of the crowd, news anchor Roxanne Featherly stepped on to the stage.

“Welcome, residents of Duckburg to this historic event!” She said into a podium microphone, flanked by a half-dozen cameras. “We are delighted to have with us today the brightest new mind in the city. A man who has seemingly overnight completely changed our lives for the better! What is his secret? What will he do next? Is he single? Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Allen Albatross!”

The crowd cheered as a figured dressed in a relaxed button-down shirt and khakis walked onstage. He moved rigidly to the mic.

“Who’s that?” Huey whispered.

“Oh, Allen Albatross is the inventor of the Albatross Nest!” Fenton responded. “Do you guys have one yet?”

Huey groaned. “Where did those things come from?! I’m supposed to be the tech expert in the family, but I’d never heard about them ‘til today! Maybe Louie was right…” Huey’s stomach started to sink again, “Maybe I AM losing my edge! I’ve been so panicked about Season 3 that I haven’t had time to…”

“I would like to thank you all for coming to this press conference.” Allen Albatross began, sounding slightly stiff. “We have been so incredibly overwhelmed by the amazing response to this new product. The purpose of this conference is to answer any questions you may have about…”

“Yeah, yeah, right here. In the front.” an overconfident voice said. The cameras turned to focus on Louie, lounging in a green lawn chair just in front of the stage.

“The name’s Louie Duck Esquire III. Former richest duck in the world, heir to the McDuck fortune, world-renowned treasure hunter – it’s no big deal, really. Anyways, listen Al – can I call you Al? – this ‘Albatross’ thing is all the rage right now, but where’re you gonna go from here? How you gonna stay ahead of the competition? I’m assuming you’re currently seeking out some rich, qualified, well-connected businessmen to serve as investors and trusted partners as your company grows, am I right? Maybe some close friends to help you break in all those yachts and sports cars and mansions you’ve been buying?? MY mansion has a ghost butler, what does…”

“Our team is very well established.” Allen Albatross said curtly. “Does anyone have any REAL questions??”

“Whoa, hang on!” Louie interjected, “If you’re trying to suggest that I’m some kind of idiot, you can…”

Roxanne Featherly stepped in, “Mr. Albatross, Duckburg has a rich history of technology and innovation. Just recently, we’ve seen major products released by Mark Beaks’s Waddle and seen Gizmoduck reinvent what it means to be a hero. How do you see yourself and Albatross Nest tech fitting into this environment?”

“Thank you, Ms. Featherly,” Allen Albatross replied. “I have nothing but respect for my good friend Mark Beaks, and I consider it the highest honor to be mentioned in the same breath as he.”

In the back of the crowd, Huey and Fenton rolled their eyes.

“However,” Allen continued, “I am troubled by ‘Gizmoduck.’ The people of Duckburg should never feel at risk, but they should not need some kind of body-altered superhero to save them. This is what we are developing at Albatross. The kind of personal assistant that not only provides help around the house but frees up your time to pursue your own stories and life. Instead of relying on others to save you, you can now have the opportunity to be the hero of your own story.”

The crowd thoughtfully nodded and applauded at this, causing Huey and Fenton to glance around nervously.

“Yeah, right.” Louie scoffed, “I got an Albatross Nest so I wouldn’t have to reach for the remote anymore.” He grabbed a can of Pep, took a long swig, and tossed the rest of the can to the side.

“Security, could somebody remove him, please?” Allen said darkly.

“What!? Aw, come on, Al!” Louie whined. “I’ll let you borrow my diving board to jump into your vast pool of gold!!”

Huey tugged on his end of the duffle bag. “Let’s get out of here.” Fenton nodded.

INT. ALBATROSS HEADQUARTERS – SAME TIME

The newly completed Albatross Headquarters building looked modern and high-tech on the outside, but inside it was quite a different story. The walls were bare, and each room was unfurnished. There were no employees, no offices, no lights. The whole place looked as though it had been built in a careless rush. Which it had.

But there was one person inside, a gray-hoodie-clad figure, staring at a phone on the top-most floor, livestreaming the event in the plaza beneath him. He scanned the crowd and finally saw what he was looking for: Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera and that red-hat kid carrying a conspicuous duffle bag.

They didn’t even suspect a thing.


	2. PART II

_"I'm gonna want to quit, so I'll be counting on you"_

\- Kip Moore, "Faith When I Fall"

INT. GEARLOOSE LABS – AFTERNOON

Huey stepped up to a desk in the middle of the lab, reveling in his professional-quality lab coat and goggles (they were way too big for him, and technically not HIS, but you gotta call these victories as you see them).

Fenton searched for something in the desk drawers. “So, Huey, you have concerns about being overtaken by robots? Well, behold!” He pulled out a smooth gray cylinder that looked like a can of spray paint. He gave the trigger a quick pull and a cloud of soft orange smoke came out. “RoboSpray!”

Huey eyed it suspiciously. “So…what does it do?”

“It’s still in development,” Fenton admitted, “but early tests suggest that any sort of artificial intelligence that comes in contact with it will be immediately repelled!”

One of the Lil’ Bulbs skittered by on the floor, chasing a cockroach. Fenton knelt down and sprayed a puff of the smoke in its face. The robot immediately froze, its light turning from bright yellow to a pale orange, shaking violently.

“See?” Fenton gestured. “Stops them right in their…”

Suddenly the Lil’ Bulb jumped six feet in the air, landed on Fenton and wrenched the can of RoboSpray away from him. It began dousing itself in the substance, jumping and dancing in glee.

“Well...that’s new.” Fenton said, he and Huey backing away. From deeper in the lab, they could hear the pitter patter of tiny metal feet rushing towards them.

INT. GYRO’S SECRET ROOM – SAME TIME

In a dimly lit space lined with discarded wads of paper and broken circuit boards, Gyro paced back and forth in front of a table while a half-dozen Lil Bulbs tussled on the floor. One single light shone, pointing accusingly at Gyro’s prisoner.

“Yes,” Gyro muttered grimly. “I’ve got you now. You have nowhere to run, so you might as well TALK!!!” He pointed threateningly. “Where did you come from?!? How did you find us!?! What are you here for!??”

Sitting on the table was an Albatross Nest. It said nothing.

“ANSWER ME!!!!!” Gyro demanded.

“I’m sorry,” a disembodied female voice said, “I didn’t quite catch that.”

“You insolent little…” Gyro stepped forward clenching a mallet. “Well, if that’s how you want it, you’ve forced my hand!! Prepare to…”

At that moment all of the Lil Bulbs on the floor began squeaking frantically. They rushed at the door and pried it open. The Albatross Nest flipped itself off the table and rolled after them.

“HEY!!” Gyro yelled, “GET BACK HERE!!!”

He opened the door to the lab and was greeted by the sight of every Lil Bulb leaping for joy amidst a growing cloud of orange smoke. Huddled in the back corner were Huey and Fenton, hands behind their backs.

“Dr. Gearloose!” Fenton said sheepishly. “I’ve…uh…never seen anything like it, have you?”

Gyro’s shoulders slumped in annoyance. He breathed a beleaguered sighed, pulled out a much smaller gray cylinder from his pocket and sprayed the contents at the partying robots. A cloud of light blue-green smoke enveloped them and they immediately sat on the ground looking dazed. One by one, they picked themselves up and woozily made their way to different corners of the lab.

Gyro pointed at Huey. “Red kid. Out.” He gestured at the door.

Huey gulped and slinked away.

“…And you.” Gyro pointed at Fenton. “Come here.”

Fenton cautiously stepped forwards. “I’m sorry, Dr. Gearloose, I honestly thought that…”

“Forget the RoboSpray, there’s something more important.” Gyro gestured to the Albatross Nest lying on the floor. It had been trampled by the swarm of Lil Bulbs. In doing so, some of its inner circuitry had been exposed. Gyro pried the outer layer of plastic off. Underneath was a still-shining bulb identical to the Lil Bulbs.

Fenton gasped. “Albatross Nests run on BulbTech??”

“I figured as much,” Gyro said through clenched teeth. “These things came out of nowhere. NO ONE could have developed a technology this advanced and mass produced it this quickly besides ME!”

“So Allen Albatross STOLE all the…”

“No,” Gyro muttered. “There’s only ONE person who has the nerve to openly steal tech from me.”

“You mean…”

“Yes!” Gyro said angrily. “Now take that stupid suit, get over there and…” he searched for the right instructions, “…do something violent!” He stormed off into the lab, tossing the RoboSpray can at Fenton as he left. “And get rid of this while you’re at it.”

Fenton stuffed the can in his shirt pocket. “Uh, but Dr. Gearloose, the suit needs…”

Gyro whirled around. “It needs what??! What did you do to it now!?!”

Fenton tensed, then laughed nervously. “…needs to be put through its paces because there’s been so little crime going on lately! Uh, yeah, I’ll just be going now…” Fenton backed away, dragging the duffle bag.

EXT. GEARLOOSE LABS – SAME TIME

Huey sat with his ear to the door, listening to everything. This was it! Fenton had told him the suit was compromised – if he was ever going to need help, this would be it. Time to be the hero! Huey dashed off down the hallway. He had to get back downtown…

INT. ALBATROSS HEADQUARTERS – TWENTY MINUTES LATER

Two laser beams cut through the wall of Albatross Headquarters, carving out a block of drywall through which Fenton broke through in the Gizmoduck suit. He expected some sort of security to be waiting for him, but there was nothing there. The building was dark, empty, and frighteningly unfinished.

“Uh…Mr. Albatross?” Fenton called out, crouching to fit in the dim hallways. Every door was closed. “Where is every…?”

Fenton spun around as he heard a dinging sound. Behind him at the end of the hall, two elevators doors slid open. There was no one inside. The elevator car walls were covered with loose tarps, and despite the fact the building was at least 40-50 stories tall, there were only two buttons to choose from.

Fenton struggled to fit in the tight space and selected second button. After a significant climb, the doors opened again revealing a massive office at the very top of the building. The walls were white and the floor uncarpeted, but the far wall was taken up by a massive window overlooking the city, and at the back of the room was one enormous wooden desk. Sitting behind the desk was Allen Albatross.

“Mr. Albatross!” Fenton said forcefully. “I’m afraid you have some explaining to do!”

Allen Albatross did not respond. He didn’t move at all.

“Mr. Albatross??” Fenton tried again, a chill running up his spine. He cautiously approached the desk. “What do you know about…”

The figure at the desk sat still. Inhumanly still. He faced outward with a perfectly blank expression.

Fenton was right in front of the desk now. He gritted his teeth, reached a shaking arm out, and poked the Albatross founder. He felt his gloved hand hit something much firmer and sharper than anyone’s body should be, and the being known as “Allen Albatross” collapsed from its seat behind the desk and onto the floor in a series of metallic clangs.

Fenton gasped. “He’s not real! He’s a ro…”

He heard a door open and a series of bright lights came on. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Mark Beaks bopping nonchalantly across the floor towards him.

“Wassup, hero guy!” Beaks yelled over the music blaring through his headphones. “Glad you could make it, _chico_!”

“Don’t you DARE call me that!” Fenton snarled.

“Dude, you should’ve let me know you were dropping by!” Beaks said. “I wasn’t expecting you ‘til at least tomorrow. Would’ve given me more time to get this sweet office ready! Hey, check it out: Beanbag chair!! Pew-pew!!!” He hit a button on the desk and a massive beanbag dropped down from a hole in the ceiling and landed right on top of the Allen Albatross robot. Beaks leapt onto it and put his feet up on the desk.

Fenton fumed. “Cut the games, Beaks! What’s going on here?! What REALLY is Albatross?? And what’s with the robot CEO?!?”

“Oh, you know, it’s been a…hang on, I can't do this without mood lighting.” Beaks pulled an Albatross Nest out of his hoodie and dropped it on the desk. “Albatross, start the show.”

“Starting show,” the now-familiar disembodied voice said.

A series of LED lights descended from the ceiling, all deep blue. Moody fog began wafting in. Sweeping synthesizer chords filled the room. Beaks sat up on the beanbag, a faraway look in his eyes.

“You see, Gizmoduck, lately I’ve been feeling just so…BLAH. Things just come back to back to back. One day you’re defeating me with electrified ping-pong balls. The next day Glomgold’s recruiting me to take down Scrooge McDuck, the NEXT day…wait, something’s missing here. Oh, I got it!”

Beaks grabbed a microphone from under the desk and began again, voice distorted by heavy autotune. “…The next day the Earth is being invaded by freaky MOON PEOPLLLLEEEEE.”

The lights went from deep blue to bright white. Beaks stepped up onto the desk singing into the mic dramatically, “So I decided I needed a CHAAAANNNGEEE! Needed to get back on top of the GAAAMMMEEE. So I started a brand new company and stole all the technology from Gyro so that you would notice and have to come stop me, and then I could totally destroy YOOOOUUUUU. And…BEAKS DROP!!!!”

A stomach-churning bass riff started playing over pounding percussion, the lights flashed dozens of colors at once and confetti rained from every corner of the room while Beaks danced vigorously on the desk. Fenton whirled around and smashed the Albatross Nest. The music ground to a halt and the lights retracted into the ceiling.

“Wait,” Fenton said, trying to piece this all together. “You’re telling me you secretly started a new company, made a new product, made a fake CEO, and built an entire office building _JUST TO GET MY ATTENTION_???”

“Yeah, isn’t it great?!” Beaks said, lounging on the beanbag chair again. “I mean, when you got all this money coming in, you gotta do SOMEthing with it. Other than buy helicopters to blow up, ‘cuz that gets SO BORING.”

Fenton looked at him in disbelief. “Ok, you’re REALLY…”

The elevator dinged, and both men turned to see Huey Duck standing in the room, doubled over and breathing heavily. In lieu of an actual superhero outfit, he had drawn a massive black “H” on the front of his shirt. “HA!” he choked out. “I…MADE IT!!! And that plan,” he pointed at Beaks, “is REALLY pathetic.”

“Did…did you just RUN all the way over here?” Fenton asked.

“Junior…Woodchuck…[gasp]…cross country….badge.” Huey stammered.

Fenton sighed. “No matter. Beaks, this has got to stop!”

“Yes, I agree.” Beaks hissed back, narrowing his eyes into yellow slits and pulling another Albatross Nest out of his hoodie. “Albatross, begin Plan ‘Bye, bye’!”

All the lights in the room turned blood red. From the ceiling an oversized laser descended, aimed directly at Fenton. Before he could react, the laser cut a line across the suit’s chest plate, right where Fenton had said the fracture was. The suit buckled and zapped electricity, falling to individual pieces and leaving Fenton unprotected. He fell to the floor.

“You see, _amigo,_ ” Beaks said, menacingly standing over his rival, “The great thing about a product like the Albatross Nest that does ANYthing you ask it to, is that people just bring it into their homes and start talking to it ALL DAY LONG. And then I get learn where they live, how often they crash like an idiot into their bedroom walls, where their SUPER SUITS ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE, where their…”

“YAAAHHHHHH!!!!” Huey leapt at Beaks, clubbing him over the head with the JWG. Beaks reeled backwards and Huey landed in a defensive pose in front of Fenton.

“Huey!” Fenton whispered. “Get out of here while you can!”

“No!” Huey said firmly, “This is my chance!”

Beaks glared at Huey smugly. “Oh, and YOU. Aren’t you a just an adorable little ball of anxieties? Want to be the grown up, want to be the hero, but too scared to do it! Scared of the unknown. Scared of BECOMING A ROBOT. Well, I’ve got just the thing for you…” Beaks cradled the Albatross Nest in his hands. “Security!” he yelled.

Huey whirled around to see two enormous, faceless robots crash into the room. He felt Fenton wedge something metallic and cylindrical into his left hand. Huey just had time to shove whatever it was under his shirt before the security bots overtook them. Huey swung at the robots with the JWG, but it was no use. Something steely smashed into the back of his head and he sunk into a black universe of pain.

INT. STRANGE ROOM – WHO KNOWS HOW MUCH LATER

When Huey regained consciousness, he found himself in a very odd place. It felt as if he was floating underwater, and all he could see was white. A different dimension.

Out of nowhere a bolt of pain coursed through his body. He yelled in agony, but no sound came out. Across his field of vision flashed an image of Mark Beaks.

“Hey, Hat. So, here’s the deal: This whole ‘Albatross Nest’ was never meant to be super sustainable, since all it had to do was get Gizmoduck over here so I could defeat him once and for all, which I TOTALLY DID!!! Pew-pew-pew-pew!!!!!”

Huey gritted his teeth but could feel nothing.

Beaks continued, “But…these things are now making more money than all of Waddle combined, so I kinda need to keep them running for a little bit. And I was like, ‘well, how am I supposed to run a complex system of smart speakers?’ but then I was like, ‘Hey didn’t that kid rewire the Gizmoduck suit to run off the dude's brain?’ and I was like ‘Yeah, he did!’ and I asked, ‘Dude, can we do that with the Albatross Nest system?’ and I responded, ‘Well, if by ‘we’ you mean ‘me,’ cause I’m WAY cooler than everyone else and totally not struggling with my personal issues at all,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, you know it!’ and then I went ahead and wired YOUR brain up to the system, so now YOU’RE going to run the entire network of Albatross Nests all by yourself!! Neat, huh??”

Huey’s mind raced. Through the overload of ego, he thought he heard Beaks say he’d rewired his _brain_?!!?

Beaks continued. “I didn’t really know what I was doing when I wired all this up. This book that I found in your hat about how to make core processors didn’t have any pictures,” Beaks flashed the JWG in Huey’s face, “so it was kinda unhelpful…” He tossed the book in a garbage can.

Huey felt rage filling him, not only at his precious JWG being called “unhelpful” but also at Beak’s flagrant disrespect for recycling.

“…So, basically, this might kill you. Just FYI.”

Beaks’s face cut out of Huey’s vision only to return a second later with the same jolt of pain. “Oh, and if you’re wondering, ‘isn’t my stupid family gonna wonder where I am?’ well, I got that all figured out. Check it!!” Beaks brought the frame lower and what Huey saw next made his blood freeze.

It was him. Or rather, a figure that looked just like him. Beaks tapped its head and it started walking, stiffly, out of his field of vision.

“It can only say lines from that stupid book I was showing you earlier,” Beaks continued, “So I don’t think anyone’s gonna notice a difference.”

Huey strained every muscle in his body, desperately trying to free himself from this nightmare of a trap. For a second he thought he could feel his left hand and went to raise it…only for a blast of searing pain to rip through his body.

“Whoa there, tiger!” Beaks said, mockingly, “Can’t have you wrecking my system. Any time you misbehave, you get the cattle prod, ok cowboy? So long, kid. See ya NEVER!!! Beaks out.”

Huey’s vision went black. Fear gripped him, but he was powerless. No control. Complete loss. A voice whispered in his ear, “Connecting to system in 5…4…3…2…”

Why had he thought he could be a hero?? He should’ve just given up – admitted that he was never going to be anything but a nerd. Admitted that Season 3 would ruin him regardless. Of course, this would probably destroy him first…

“…1.”

At that moment, a force hit Huey’s body unlike anything he’d felt before. An atom bomb of pressure exploding in his brain, so chaotic and overpowering that he was sure his entire head would cave in. An avalanche of information smothered him and overwhelmed all of his senses – a cascade of voices and electric currents blending into a maelstrom of distorted sound and pulses.

Huey tried to scream but couldn’t find his voice. He tried to kick and thrash his way out but couldn’t feel his limbs. All he could sense was pain, noise, and fear.

It was impossible to tell how long he was in this state: seconds, minutes, days? Time ceased to have any meaning. But through the endless tidal wave, he eventually heard something he could distinguish. Something that stood out from the cacophony.

“I can’t believe he just threw me out!! Like I’m some stupid kid, I was the RICHEST DUCK IN THE WORLD!!! Albatross, get me more Pep!!” Louie.

“You should’ve come with us! We visited the Thunderbird’s lair in the Ozarks!” Webby.

“Oh, and I totally named all the Thunderbirds! There’s Dewey Jr., Dewey III, King Dewey the 13th, Marie Deweynette…” Dewey.

_Keep talking, guys!_ Huey silently willed. He reached for their voices in his mind – it was like swimming through tar. He could feel the sharp jolts of pain from the system telling him he was doing something wrong, but he fought it.

“Also, we saw the Thunderbird’s vast treasure of every currency known to man.” Webby continued.

“EVERY CURRENCY KNOWN TO MAN!?!?!” Louie exclaimed. “HOW MUCH DID YOU BRING BACK FOR ME?!?”

“Well, the Thunderbirds are very protective of their treasure,” Webby said, “so we thought it was best to leave it. Although they DID give us some of their own currency!”

“What the heck is this??” Louie demanded.

“Oh, it’s millet!” Webby explained, “Birds just love it. They’ll even…”

“DANG IT, WEBBY, I NEED SOMETHING I CAN **_USE_**!!!! Albatross, more Pep!!!”

In his mind, Huey laughed. Laughed at Louie’s stupid greed, laughed at Dewey and Webby’s careless adventuring that they somehow always survived. He could see them all there now, sitting on the couch watching whatever the latest episode of Ottoman Empire was. The scene in his mind calmed the storm around him, the noise subsiding to a background blur. He felt himself rising, as if pulled towards the surface by a life vest – pressure dissipating, the sunlight getting closer and closer until…

…Huey gasped for breath. He felt wires all over his body, and in a rush of adrenaline tore them off. He sat for a second with his fists clenched, face covered in a blinding mix of sweat and tears. He was on the floor of a cold, white room with dozens of wires emerging from the wall, all sparking and broken now. He was free.

But then he heard a beeping alarm. Before he knew it, the door flew open and the two faceless robot security guards were bearing down on him.

“Ahhgh!” Huey whimpered. He clawed at the top of his head for the JWG and then remembered: it was gone.

NO! He needed that book! How else could he devise a plan?? He frantically glanced in every direction, but there was nothing…until he felt something under his shirt. He wrenched the object out and found himself holding the gray can of RoboSpray.

There was no other option. The security bots were on him. Huey closed his eyes, held the can up, and…


	3. PART III

_"I had to reach way down inside,_

_I had to have faith I'd find No Fear."_

\- Terri Clark, "No Fear"

INT. ALBATROSS HEADQUARTERS – SAME TIME

Mark Beaks had stuffed himself into the Gizmoduck suit and was rolling around the unfinished office, shooting the laser pointer willy-nilly.

“Pew-pew!! Pew-pew!!” he yelled obnoxiously. “Oh, it is good to be BACK!! Who’s laughing NOW, Gizmoduck!??? Thought my plan was stupid, huh??!? Hey Albatross, start the light show again!!”

Nothing happened.

“Ahem, ALBATROSS, START THE LIGHT SHOW!!!” Beaks demanded.

Nothing.

Beaks’s eye twitched. “Uh…security, is everything ok??”

No one responded.

“Ok,” Beaks clawed open the door, “What's going o…?”

In the hallway was a horrifying sight. The two security bots were in mangled piles on the floor. A thick cloud of orange smoke hung in the air. The robots appeared to have run into each at full speed and then sheered apart into a million pieces.

Beaks shuddered. “Hat? Kid? Where are you?”

The door to the room was knocked off its hinges. Inside were nothing but tangles of broken, sputtering wires.

Beaks shook in anger. How was this possible!? Whatever. The kid had a weak spot: his family. Beaks grabbed his phone and pulled up the Robot Huey settings.

“I’ll show him…” he muttered, changing the operating system from “Passive” to “Overkill.”

INT. McDUCK MANOR – FIVE MINUTES LATER

Louie sat on the couch surrounded by literal mountains of Pep cans. Webby sat next to him, documenting she and Dewey’s Thunderbird adventure in her Secret Files. Dewey was busy stacking the Pep cans to the ceiling.

“Hey, has anyone seen Huey?” Webby asked.

“Yeah, I saw him leave this morning.” Louie said, eyes fixed on the TV.

“Do you think he’s been acting…kinda upset lately?” Webby continued.

“Something’s probably bothering him.” Louie said.

“Uh…should we be worried about that?”

“Depends,” Louie said, "There’s always SOMEthing bothering him…”

“…when it’s one specific thing that lasts for, like, a week, that’s when you need to start worrying.” Dewey said, standing on a chair to stack the cans higher. “That means he can’t fix it with his Junior Woodchuck stuff...”

“…Which means he’s probably losing his mind.” Louie added.

“And you want to try to avoid that.” Dewey concluded.

“Well, ok,” Webby said, still concerned, “but shouldn’t we at least ask him?”

“Could be dangerous,” Dewey cautioned.

“If you ask him if he needs help, he’ll assume that you think he can’t handle the problem.” Louie explained.

“…And then he’ll ALSO lose his mind.” Dewey concluded.

“The best thing to do is just give him something else to fix.” Louie said. “That way he can feel good about solving one problem, and it’ll distract him from the thing he CAN’T solve. Speaking of problems – Albatross! Pep! More!”

Nothing happened.

“Hey, Albatross, I said more Pep!”

“Maybe you should…stop for today.” Webby suggested nervously, eyeing the Great Wall of Pep on the other side of the couch.

“Leave me alone with my addictions, Webby!” Louie grumbled.

...And then all the lights went out. And the TV.

“Um…ok.” Dewey said, nervously. “This is weird.”

Louie kicked the Albatross Nest. “What’s wrong with this thing?”

Behind them, the front door swung open very slowly.

“Oh, perfect, that must be Huey.” Louie said. “Watch – this is the thing I was talking about.” He turned around and leaned his chin on the back of the couch. “Hello, dearest older brother,” he said in the smarmiest voice possible, “We seem to be having some trouble with the TV, could you…uhhhh…….” his voice trailed off in a squeak of terror. Webby and Dewey turned.

Standing in the doorway was a being that looked like Huey but was CLEARLY not. Its eyes were empty red orbs, its fingers sharpened and horrifically long, and it moved in jerky steps with clanks of metal.

“Junior Woodchuck rule 84,” it said in a distorted growl, “Safety doesn’t happen by accident.” and then charged full speed at the couch.

“THAT’S NOT HUEY!!!!!” the three kids screamed in horror.

Webby and Louie ducked under the couch, just in time as the Huey-bot tore a three-foot chunk out of the back. It leapt on top, head turning in all directions like a hawk. Dewey crept up behind it, toy robot in hand.

“EAT THIS, YOU IMPOSTER!!!” he yelled, and shot a perfectly harmless foam frisbee at it. “Aw, man, is that really the best I can do?”

The Huey-bot’s head swiveled 180 degrees. “Junior Woodchuck rule #42: Build things right the first time, and they won’t require modific…”

Webby hit the robot with a flying leap from behind, sending it tumbling into the main hallway. Its eyes flashed and it lunged back at her. She attempted a charge of her own, but when they met in the middle, the robot swatted her into the corner as if she was nothing. Dewey and Louie froze, horrified as the robot grabbed the fireplace poker and began swinging the sharp tool like a bat. It crept slowly towards the boys with deadly focus…

...but before the Huey-bot could close the distance, the front door swung open again – the light capturing the shadow of the real Huey Duck, eyes narrow, bill curled into a snarl.

The Huey-bot slowly turned its head to face him. It brandished the fireplace poker like a lance and charged at Huey.

“Let’s get this over with,” Huey muttered darkly. He reached under his hat and pulled out the can of RoboSpray, held it out in front of him and sprayed a cloud of orange smoke in the Huey-bot’s face. Immediately the robot went stiff, the fireplace poker clattered to the ground. Its eyes changed from red to pale orange, and it began vibrating rapidly.

Huey jumped into action, drawing a line of smoke in the air as he raced towards the big-screen TV. The can sputtered - it was almost out. Huey pounded it frantically, “Come on!”

Behind him the Huey-bot took off like a shot, following the cloud of RoboSpray, sparking and shaking – screws coming loose. Huey braced himself and slammed into the wall of Pep cans stacked around the couch, the impact knocking him to the floor. As the cans were all still completely full (save one sip), the resulting avalanche of cans produced a waterfall of carbonated liquid, pooling all around him. With the last of bit of spray, Huey reached up and drew an orange “X” on the TV screen and rolled out of the way.

The Huey-bot hit the pond of Pep and immediately lost all traction. It skidded across the floor and slammed headlong into the TV – cracks spreading on the screen from the point of collision. The massive TV wobbled on its perch. Dazed, the Huey-bot looked up in alarm just in time to see the TV fall dramatically from the wall and onto the floor, crushing the robot in a clatter of glass and one last zap of electricity.

Dewey, Louie, and Webby peeked out from behind the couch wide-eyed. Huey stood tense beside the shattered TV. He looked at them, put one finger on his lips, and tossed the empty can of RoboSpray at the Albatross Nest sitting on the table – knocking it into the still-expanding pond of Pep where it crackled and sparked in the liquid before fading.

Huey closed his eyes and exhaled.

“Um, I’m sorry but, WHAT WAS THAT?!?!?!” Dewey demanded.

“Where did that other Huey come from!?” Webby asked.

“And how do we know that _THIS_ one is the real Huey???” Louie yelled.

“Is everyone ok?” Huey asked, rushing over to examine them. “Any bruises, lacerations, concussions, burns, internal injuries or…?”

“It’s the real Huey.” the three kids said in unison.

“Excellent!” Huey declared, jumping up on the table. “Family, we have a non-hypothetical situation: Mark Beaks has taken Gizmoduck prisoner and is holding him at Albatross Headquarters. He’s been using these things,” Huey gestured at the soaking speaker, “to listen in on us and discover our weaknesses. We need to get in there, free Gizmo, and shut down Albatross for good! Now…”

“Wait!” Louie interrupted. “Mark Beaks has been spying on us through the SPEAKERS???”

“Yerp.”

Louie chuckled. “Ah, man. That guy’s a genius.”

Huey, Dewey, Webby, and the pictures on the wall all glared at him.

Louie rolled his eyes. “I mean, ‘Boooo…Mark Beaks stinks, gotta free Gizmoduck.’ Now how are we gonna do this??”

“Well, I have a plan, but I’m going to need help.” Huey admitted. “Webby, Dewey, is that Thunderbird still here? ‘Cause we’re gonna need it. Louie, I need you to take that admiration you feel for Mark Beaks and turn it into something even more dangerous.”

“And what’s that?” Louie asked.

“If we move fast enough, we should be able to get into Albatross Headquarters before Beaks has time to get the Nest system back online.” Huey said, reaching down to pick up the busted speaker. “While the whole system is off, he’s weak – and his company is vulnerable to some…competition.”

Huey tossed the broken speaker to Louie. Louie’s eyes returned to their half-closed, resting position. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“YES!!!” Huey raised his arms in triumph. “LET’S MOVE!!!!” He jumped off the table, over the torn-up couch, and sprinted out the front door.

Once outside, he stopped and put one hand on his chest. “Wait…am I really doing this? Am _I_ really _doing_ this???”

There was a rumble of thunder behind him, and he smiled in determination as he got his answer.

INT. ALBATROSS HQ – FIVE MINUTES LATER

Mark Beaks was at his desk, desperately trying to turn the pages of the JWG while wearing the Gizmoduck suit.

“So, ‘the electrical system can be recalibrated by locating the power source and returning it to a grounded state…’ he read with increasing anxiety and confusion, “OH, COME ON, WHY CAN’T THIS HAVE VIDEO TUTORIALS!??!?! Stupid book…”

Just then, a gust of wind seemed to arrive out of nowhere and began flipping the pages of the JWG, slowly at first and then violently enough to lift the whole book in the air and shoot it to the far side of the room where Huey stood with a determined grin on his face. He reached up and caught the book without even looking and held it victoriously.

“Junior Woodchuck Rule 9, Beaks: ‘The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook is loyal to its rightful owner!’” Huey said, returning it to its proper place in his hat.

“Ok, first of all, that doesn’t make ANY sense!” Beaks shakily stood up in the suit and menacingly approached Huey. “And second, if you seriously think you can destroy my network, beat my robots, escape my building, and then just walk right back in here and do it all over again, you’ve got another…”

A blast of thunder interrupted him, and the Thunderbird crashed through the office wall behind Huey in a shower of plaster and glass, Dewey and Webby crouched on its back.

“Man, you kids are so extra.” Beaks groaned, holding up his phone and snapping a picture. “#officecrashers, #ohitsonnow, #YAAAAAGGGHHHGHG #fridayfeelings”

“Alexander Deweyton!” Dewey commanded, apparently addressing the Thunderbird, “Get ‘im!”

The Thunderbird’s eyes flashed, and a bolt of purple lightning enveloped Beaks sending him violently shaking in the metal suit.

“AHGHGHGHGH!!! THAT’S NOT FAIR!!!!”

The Thunderbird swooped around the office, ripping plaster off the walls and shattering the enormous windows. In the chaos, Huey spotted his backpack tossed in the far corner of the room and ran to grab it. He barely had time to reach it when he felt Webby grab him and pull him towards the door.

“Come on!” she yelled, “Let’s get Fenton!”

She and Huey ran out of the office and into the hallway, the bare walls lined with identical doors. Webby experimentally kicked one open, revealing nothing but an empty room.

“How are we gonna find him??” she asked.

“I…don’t know,” Huey confessed, then his eyes widened. “Unless…”

He dug for his tablet, and launched a program called “Super-Secret Communications Device.” It pulled up a window with a map of Duckburg on it. He zoomed in until he saw it: one flashing white dot.

Huey broke into a massive grin. “He’s using it! He’s actually using it!! We’ll find him in no time now!”

“Great!” Webby said. “…Except you should probably change the name of that program to something less conspicuous.”

Huey rolled his eyes, “Look, I’m not good at imagination st…”

“Never mind, LET’S GO!” Webby yelled, grabbing the tablet from Huey and rushing down the hall. 

INT. AN EMPTY ROOM – TWO MINUTES LATER

Fenton was tied up with a jumble of leftover wire, tossed against the wall with his mouth taped shut. He had hidden Huey’s prototype communication device in his hand before being thrown in the room and had been pressing it for what felt like forever. He was almost out of hope when Webby kicked in the door.

“Fenton!” she and Huey yelled in relief, rushing in. Webby went to work untying him while Huey ripped off the tape on his mouth.

“You used my Super-Secret Communication Device!” Huey said, awestruck.

“Well, it seemed like just the right hypothetical situation.” Fenton admitted. “And it actually worked! Not bad…”

Huey beamed.

Webby yanked on the wires and they fell in a loose pile to the floor. Fenton shook himself off and faced the kids. “Webby, Hu…I mean ‘SuperHuey’, let’s finish this!”

INT. ALBATROSS HQ – SAME TIME

Dewey was having a grand time riding around on the Thunderbird and watching Mark Beaks stumble all over himself (and periodically get electrocuted) trying to stop them.

“Oooh!” Dewey said, “Beanbag chairs!” The Thunderbird swooped low and Dewey reached down to grab the one behind Beaks’s desk. He tossed the oversized beanbag on the back of the mythical bird and collapsed backwards on it. “I could Dew-ey this all day!!”

Beaks fumed. “ENOUGH!!!!!!!” He somehow managed to activate the Net Shooter feature on the Gizmoduck suit, sending a gigantic length of rope netting flying. It snagged the Thunderbird and dragged it to the ground in a flurry of lightning and feathers.

Dewey was tossed off and rolled painfully into the wall. Beaks towered over him, laser pointer aimed at his face.

“Oh, you are SUPER dead, kid…!”

And indeed, Dewey may have been if Fenton, Webby, and Huey hadn’t burst back into the room at that moment.

“BLATHERING BLATHERSKITE!!!” Fenton yelled.

“Aw, come on!!” Beaks whined as the suit pieces spun around the room and materialized on Fenton, leaving the butthurt billionaire crawling away on the floor.

“End of the line, Beaks.” Fenton said, he and the kids marching towards him.

“HA!!!” Beaks stood up indignantly. “What are you talking about!?! The Albatross Nest is still the most successful new product on the market! Once I fix all the damage you’ve done here, I can go right back to listening in on EVERYone in Duckburg! I’ll know ALL the secrets! Nothing will happen that I can’t…”

“The Albatross Nest?!” Dewey said. “Dude, are you serious?? That thing is SO five minutes ago.”

“WHAT?!?!” Beaks yelled in horror. He frantically reached for his phone. The number 1 trending topic was #LouieInc.

Beaks pulled up a livestream of Louie standing on the same stage that the robotic Allen Albatross had given his press conference on earlier that day. All the Albatross “A”s had been hastily scribbled out and painted over with green “L”s.

Louie stood behind the podium in his custom green suit, shouting theatrically while holding his broken Albatross Nest speaker. “…I bought this item because I was promised by Mr. Albatross himself that it would allow me to take control of my life! This device would allow me to become the hero of my own story!! Well, here we are not 12 HOURS LATER, and it’s already BROKEN!!! I ask you, the good citizens of Duckburg: DO YOU FEEL LIKE HEROES!?!?!?”

The gathering crowd of onlookers muttered amongst themselves.

“This is why,” Louie said, grabbing the microphone and pacing the stage, “We at Louie Inc. – the same trusted company who brought you Harp-B-Gone and facilitated the long-awaited reunion of the Ottoman Empire brothers – have decided to take matters into our own hands! We are now introducing our own product that can not only replace Mr. Albatross’s disappointing and faulty one but upgrade it tenfold!”

He tossed the Albatross speaker over his shoulder and stepped up to a curtain-covered table. He ripped off the veil to reveal an object that looked like a can Pep wrapped in green construction paper. Which it was.

“Behold! The Jurselff personal assistant!!”

The growing audience stared in rapture, murmuring in awe.

“Whenever you need something done around the house, it’s got you covered! Just say the activating phrase: ‘Do it, Jurselff!!’”

Louie continued, the crowd hanging on his every word. “Our revolutionary system is not only user friendly but guaranteed to get results! No task is too small or too large. Need the TV volume adjusted? Just ‘Do it, Jurselff!’ Craving the sweet taste of that first sip of Pep?? Just ‘Do it, Jurselff!!!’ Being attacked by a killer robotic duplicate of your brother that must be defeated??? YOU JUST…” he held his hands out to the audience.

“'DO IT, JURSELFF!!!!'” the now-enormous crowd responded with a cheer.

“YES!!!!” Louie thrust his arms up in victory. “Patent pending, Louie Inc.”

Mark Beaks threw his phone on ground, shattering on contact. “Ok, seriously?! Whatever! All the money I made from Albatross is still VERY real! And there’s nothing you can do to stop me now!”

He reached into his pocket and grabbed another phone. A helicopter rose from behind him, hovering just outside the window. “I’ve converted ALL of my Albatross earnings to BeaksCoin! It’s all right here!” he dramatically held up a flash drive as the helicopter blades swirled.

At the sight of the flash drive, the Thunderbird in the corner of the room went berserk. It thrashed against the net, flashing lightning and letting out deafening roars of thunder.

“It’s a new form of currency!!” Webby cried. “The Thunderbird must want it for its treasure!! EVERYBODY GET DOWN!!!”

“Got it!” Dewey yelled. He pulled out a pair of blue plastic sunglasses and began dancing vigorously before Webby and Huey yanked him to the floor.

In a blinding explosion of purple lightning, the Thunderbird tore through the net and lunged at Beaks. It picked him up in its talons and crashed through what was left of the glass in the windows, bowling into Beaks’s would-be-escape helicopter and sending it plunging to the ground before flapping majestically off into the distance.

“Aw, phooey!” Beaks swore. “CURSE YOU, EVERYBODY!!!”

“Woo-hoo!!” Huey jumped for joy. “We did it!!!” Suddenly, he felt his knees buckle – the full weight of a day of running, fighting, and stress overwhelming him. He collapsed to the floor.

“Huey!” Webby cried, violently tugging on his arm. “Are you ok!?”

“Yeah,” Huey stammered, fumbling back to his feet. “It’s just…well, I spent the last three months worrying if I could handle Season 3. But after all this…I think I’ve got it.”

“Yep,” Webby agreed, “and we’ll all be right here for you whenever you don’t!” She, Dewey, and Fenton wrapped their arms around Huey in a big group hug. Huey blushed as red as his hat.

The elevator bell dinged, and Louie stepped into the room still clad in his custom green suit.

“Speak for yourselves,” he said, staring at his phone, “My Jurselff assistant is already selling so well I had to hire a production team just to keep up with demand!!”

INT. McDUCK MANOR – THE SAME TIME

Scrooge and Launchpad sat around a table taping green construction paper to empty cans of Pep.

“So…remind me again why we’re doing this?” Scrooge grumbled.

“I dunno, Mr. McDee,” Launchpad admitted, “but Louie said it was urgently important!”

“I was afraid of that.”

INT. ALBATROSS ENTERPRISE OFFICES – THE SAME TIME

“…And everything was right in the world.” Dewey said dramatically. “Are we done here?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Huey said.

“Right, then!” Dewey said, “Albatross, play the end-credits reprise. Oh, wait, that’s right. Eh, I’ll just Dew-ey it myself.”

To the sound of Dewey loudly singing the theme song melody, our five heroes stepped victorious into the elevator, off to save the world again another day.

INT. FOWL HIGH COMMAND LAIR – THE SAME TIME

FOWL High Command stared at hidden surveillance footage from inside Albatross Headquarters. They narrowed in on Huey.

“This young boy is a problem.”

“You should call it in.”

“He’s kicking down the Doors.”

“Enough.” Bradford said firmly, “He hasn’t seen anything yet...”


End file.
